COLLECT + CONNECT

We've welcomed in 2019, but I wanted to share with you the  20 Best EdTech of 2018 from Common Sense Media. Common Sense looked at 180 tools (websites, apps, games) for learning, collaborating, and creating and then narrowed them down to twenty. I'm sharing seven that look to be especially inviting for school libraries or for sharing with staff. ZoteroBib Evo by Ozobot Loom Google Applied Digital Skills Grasshopper: Learn to Code Digital Civics Toolkit Please Knock on My Door P.S. Here's an  ongoing list of all the Tech Roundups!  Feel free to share with your staff. Disclaimer: The South Dakota State Library does not endorse any service, product, or recommendation listed in this blog.

The South Dakota State Library (SDSL) is a division of the SD Department of Education. The State Library’s mission is to provide leadership for innovation and excellence in libraries and services to state government. The SD State Library supports all types of libraries in South Dakota including its 400+ school libraries! Recently, SDSL recently developed  The School Librarian Interview Guide  to further support schools. This guide is intended to be a useful resource as school districts hire quality library staff - a vital component of any strong school library program. In addition to containing useful information and resources, this document contains a variety of questions and scenarios that may be helpful during the interview process. This guide, along with numerous other school library related resources, can be found on library.sd.gov > School Libraries . And, we've created a page just  For Administrators . Feel free to point your administrators to this. ...

If you don't know about the website We Are Teachers , you should. It's packed full of quick, easy, practical advice and resources for teachers and librarians. For instance, they've published an article titled 13 Classroom Books for Teaching About Martin Luther King Jr. and it's a good one for building your library collection or for sharing with your staff. I'll highlight five from the list that would be particularly good for the school library: I Have a Dream by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., illus. by Kadir Nelson Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Doreen Rappaport, illus. by Bryan Collier Who Was Martin Luther King, Jr.? by Bonnie Bader, Illustrated by Nancy Harrison  Martin Rising: Requiem for a King by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney  Dear Martin by Nic Stone  Disclaimer: The South Dakota State Library does not endorse any service, product, or recommendation listed in this blog. ...

If you work in any type of library in any capacity  The Room of Requirement is a must-listen! Really, if you're human, it's a requirement. thisamericanlife.org/664/the-room-of-requirement The Room of Requirement is an episode from This American Life   -  a radio show staple around the world published by WBEZ Chicago. It's also routinely listed one of the top five podcasts on iTunes. I'll leave you with two binge-worthy podcast series: Serial and S-Town  - both from WBEZ. Disclaimer: The South Dakota State Library does not endorse any service, product, or recommendation listed in this blog.

Literacy belongs to everyone. As librarians, we know that.  How can we deliberately celebrate and honor this basic right? With... World Read Aloud Day The 10th annual #WorldReadAloudDay is February 1, 2019! Here are a few resources to help you promote World Read Aloud Day with all students regardless of age: litworld.org Lit World is the go-to for celebrating World Read Aloud Day (WRAD). It's loaded with hosting ideas, printables, downloadables, guides, a free downloadable book to accompany your celebration, and more!  Perhaps, you'll keep it simple and do a school-wide Drop Everything and Read Aloud? Maybe you'll keep it in the library and host a Read-A-Thon? Or maybe you'll make it super fun with a special school-wide assembly with character costume shows or special readings from school staff. readwritethink.org ReadWriteThink is a site endorsed by the Nat'l Council of Teachers of English. It focuses o...

I hope you find this list useful in your professional life:  THE LIST: Collect+Connect In it, you'll find a chronological listing of posts from this blog in addition to all of the  Tech Roundups!   I'll update and share this document regularly on this blog and via  the SDSL school library listserv.   Content on the Collect+Connect blog is for all types of educators, not just school librarians so feel free to share! Don't forget, you can always search the  Collect+Connect blog  itself by label/tag, keyword, or date. And you can certainly save this document or star it in your Google Drive too. THE LIST: Collect+Connect Here are some of the topics from 2018's Tech Roundups!  Tech Roundup! EduPodcast Network Tech Roundup! Be Internet Awesome & Common Sense Media Tech Roundup! Love Those Free Chrome Extensions Tech Roundup! Last Pass & YouTube Kids Tech Roundup! Book Creator Tech Roundup! Library Websit...